Anthony Powell shot and killed fellow student Asia McGowan before fatally shooting himself on April 10 at Henry Ford Community College in Michigan.
The event prompted the campus to declare a lockdown and send alerts to students via text and e-mail.
Incidents of violence at UCLA are rare ““ in October 2003, a university police officer shot Willie Davis Frazier Jr., a man who was not affiliated with the university, in a study lounge in Kerckhoff Hall during an altercation.
But such events nevertheless bring to light the possibility of a gun-related crime happening here along with a consideration of the different types of services the university provides to protect students.
A dialogue began following the Virginia Tech shootings to ensure ongoing means of responding to emergencies and keeping students safe, said Nancy Greenstein, director of police community services at the UCLA Police Department.
Safety workshops are held and reports of suspicious circumstances are regularly filed. Even if the information about a possible attack provides a false alarm, it is still better to err on the side of caution, Greenstein said.
The UCLA Police Department does its best to ensure the campus is safe, she added.
UCLA is a fairly safe public campus in an urban area, but there’s no gate to keep trespassers out, which could make it more difficult for law enforcement, she said.
The BruinAlert system has been in place since 2007 to respond to campus emergencies, said David Burns, the emergency manager for UCLA.
First, the campus awaits confirmation from the UCLA Police Department of an incident that can present an immediate risk to the life, health and safety of more than a few students. Once a consensus is reached that there is an emergency, phone calls are sent to the chancellor, executive chancellor and administrative vice chancellor, who then have the authority to issue a BruinAlert, Burns said.
The approval process takes about 15-30 seconds.
If Burns is unavailable to send the alert, two staff members will be on duty with laptop computers connected to Internet access. Fifteen various scenarios have already been entered in the system, ranging from fires to active shooters.
Burns said he and his staff must simply add in information about the location of the incident for it to be sent to students.
The BruinAlert allows communication through sirens, e-mail, text, scrolls on cable televisions and messages on AM 1630 anywhere from three to five minutes after the incident was reported.
So far, public response has been positive, as it improves confidence for having robust system of communication, Burns said. Only three alerts have been issued since the incident’s inception, with the only serious threat coming from last fall’s wildfires.
The campus police are trained for the worst-case scenario and are the first responders to any incident, Greenstein said. They are knowledgeable in what they are doing, so no time is wasted in trying to find the right person for the job, she added.
In general, it takes just minutes for university police to get to the scene of an incident when the emergency occurs locally. If anyone on campus was to be injured, emergency medical services would be deployed. The Los Angeles Fire Department provides backup assistance if necessary.
Greenstein said she recommends students read safety tips on the UCPD Web site, attend or request safety workshops, and sign up for BruinAlert.
She also said students should think about what to do in the event of a shooting by looking for exits and examining how a room is arranged. It doesn’t hurt to talk about how to be prepared, she said.
In the event that a shooting occurs, she recommends students not to panic but to think about the situation and wait for resources. If instructed to shelter in place, students should not move from the area they are currently in and should wait until they are given further instruction.
“I’ve gotten text messages from BruinAlert for even minor things, so I don’t worry so much … (and I) feel quite at peace at night,” said Sarah Foster, a first-year psychology student.